The week that was: Tarkanian vs. Rosen, Heck vs. Cortez Masto

By Megan Messerly

Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016 | 2 a.m.

National Voter Registration Day was Tuesday, but if you missed out on the celebration, you still have time to register to vote in Nevada. The deadline for mail-in voter registration applications is Oct. 8, while the deadline for in-person or online applications is Oct. 18. Early voting takes place from Oct. 22 to Nov. 4, while the deadline to request mail/absentee ballots is Nov. 1 (for which requests must also be made by mail). If you miss out on all of that, just make sure you’re registered and show up at your polling place Nov. 8.

Campaigns debate the timing of the debates

The battle of the debates continues — this week in the 3rd Congressional District race between Republican businessman Danny Tarkanian and Jacky Rosen, a Democrat and local synagogue leader. Tarkanian’s camp suggested recently that the two candidates debate either Oct. 3 or Oct. 4, with Sam Shad and Ray Hagar of Nevada Newsmakers moderating. In August, Rosen’s campaign proposed two debates, one on KTNV moderated by political journalist Jon Ralston and another on KSNV/Telemundo. The debate dates Tarkanian’s campaign proposed conflict with the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah, which begins Oct. 2 and ends Oct. 4.

So far, only one date for a debate in any of the congressional races has been pinned down. Cortez Masto and Heck will debate Oct. 14, hosted by KLAS and Univision. Their campaigns are in the process of negotiating two more debates.

This week in fact checking

Half-true. That’s the rating PolitiFact gave Republican super PAC Senate Leadership Fund’s ad saying Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto “failed Nevada rape victims” by not doing enough to process the state’s backlog of rape kits during her tenure as attorney general. While Cortez Masto has tried to push back on the claims through her own ads, fact-checkers said it’s difficult to find evidence that she specifically took on the untested-backlog issue during her time in office. However, they also said the ad was misleading because it implied Cortez Masto didn’t care about rape victims when she did prioritize sexual assault while she was attorney general.

On the campaign trail

• Donald Trump says: The morning after the first presidential debate, hosted by Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., on Sept. 26, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump called a Fox News morning show to complain about the experience, mentioning the “hostile questions” NBC News’ Lester Holt, the moderator, had asked. “He didn’t ask her about the emails at all. He didn’t ask her about her scandals. He didn’t ask her about the Benghazi deal that she destroyed. He didn’t ask her about a lot of things she should’ve been asked about. There’s no question,” Trump said. He also complained extensively about his microphone, which he called “defective,” suggesting that a malfunction was created on purpose.

• Hillary Clinton says: Most post-debate polls declared Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton the winner. The morning after, Clinton told reporters on her plane that she had a “great, great time.” “One of my favorite baseball players growing up, Ernie Banks, used to get so excited about going to play that he would say, ‘Lets play two,’ ” Clinton said. “So I am looking forward to the next debate and the one after that.” She said she thought the debate showed the “clear differences” between her and Trump. Also, after Trump praised himself for not talking about Bill Clinton’s infidelities, she brushed off a suggestion that Trump still might do so. “He can run his campaign however he chooses,” Clinton said. “I will continue to talk about what I want to do for the American people.”

The numbers: Cortez Masto, Heck nearly neck and neck

Recent polls show a close race between Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto and Republican Joe Heck to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Harry Reid. Here’s a rundown of how the numbers have been shaping up:

• Polls' average: 45% Heck, 41% Cortez Masto, 14% undecided

• Fox News: 43% Heck, 36% Cortez Masto, 21% undecided

• KTNV/Rasmussen: 44% Heck, 40% Cortez Masto, 16% undecided

• Monmouth: 46% Heck, 43% Cortez Masto, 11% undecided

• NBC/Wall Street Journal: Marist: 47% Heck, 45% Cortez Masto, 8% undecided